1.It is the judges' responsibility to keep time.
The teams/spellers will have a total of 40 seconds; 20
seconds to ask questions about the word and 20 seconds
to spell their words.

2.The judges' are to call "20 seconds" first at the
20-second mark and than ring the 2nd bell at the end of
the 40 seconds declaring that the total time has
finished. On completion of the first 20 seconds mark
a buzzer will sound and on the completion of the
remaining 20 seconds again a buzzer will sound
indicating that the time has finished.

3.The role of the judges is to determine whether
the speller has spelt the word correctly.

4.The judges will not disqualify a speller for
asking a question. However, the pronouncer will not be
liable to answer any questions after the first 20
seconds have passed.

5.Having started to spell a word, a speller may
stop and start again after taking the permission of the
pronouncer to start over. However the speller must keep
in mind the given time (will be the original time and
not the re-start time) within which the team has to give
the correct spelling.

6.In retracing, the speller will be allowed to
change the sequence of the letters. However, the speller
will not be allowed to retrace if the word asked has
been completely spelt and pronounced once.

7.In a situation when the speller has not
completely spelt the word and wants to retrace the
spelling, he/she will be allowed to do so if time
remains. The speller will be awarded points if he/she
starts spelling the word within the given time but
crosses the 40-second mark. However, the speller must
keep in mind that after the 40-second mark has been
crossed he/she will not be allowed to retrace the word.

8.If there is a question about pronunciation, the
judges shall adjudicate. Any question relating to the
spelling of a word should be referred to the judges,
however the pronouncer will indicate if the word spelt
is right or wrong and announce the correct spelling.

9.A new word will be asked of a team if there is an
objection regarding its pronunciation.

NOTE: Remember, the judges shall resolve any disputes
and may resort to whatever legal remedies they deem
appropriate as the situation demands.

11.The match will continue for two rounds. All
appeals if any, will be submitted to the jury. The
judges will not entertain appeals from individuals
seeking to dislodge another speller from the
competition.

12.Score results may be challenged only at the end
of each respective round. Appeals may be filed by the
DAWN in Education Spelling Bee Coordinator only, who is
seeking reinstatement in the contest. The official
appeal form will contain space for the following: the
word in question, the name of the school, and the reason
for the appeal.

13.The judges are in complete control of the
competition. Their decision will be final on all
questions.

14.Contestants should consult any British
dictionary (OXFORD DICTIONARY) for preparation of
the DAWN in Education Spelling Bee.

15.One scorekeeper will keep the score. Judges are
to keep track of correct and incorrect responses.

16.The judging panel will have three judges, out of
which one will be a DAWN designated moderator. The
judges will act as the court of appeal.

17.In the event that an action of a participant,
(whispers etc.) supporter of a team is deemed
inappropriate by the moderator, the moderator may
disqualify the team(s) involved.